Gilman International Scholarship

I was afforded the opportunity to Study Abroad as a Benjamin Gilman Scholar at Eastern Illinois University through the Nation Building in the New South Africa program guided by Dr. Michael Loudon....
Andrea

Program Summary

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go by offering scholarships to U.S. undergraduates who might otherwise not participate due to financial constraints. Each year, the program supports over 2,000 students participating in Fall, Spring, Academic Year or Summer study abroad or internships.

The program aims to encourage students to choose non-traditional study abroad and internship destinations, especially those outside of Western Europe,Australia, and New Zealand. The Gilman Scholarship aims to support students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad and international internships, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, students with disabilities, and students in underrepresented fields such as the sciences and engineering. The program seeks to assist ...

Program Summary

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go by offering scholarships to U.S. undergraduates who might otherwise not participate due to financial constraints. Each year, the program supports over 2,000 students participating in Fall, Spring, Academic Year or Summer study abroad or internships.

The program aims to encourage students to choose non-traditional study abroad and internship destinations, especially those outside of Western Europe,Australia, and New Zealand. The Gilman Scholarship aims to support students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad and international internships, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, students with disabilities, and students in underrepresented fields such as the sciences and engineering. The program seeks to assist students from a diverse range and type of public and private institutions from all 50 states.

The Gilman Program offers scholarships up to $5,000. Applicants studying a Critical Need Language abroad are automatically eligible to be considered for the Critical Need Language Award of $8,000 (limited number available each year). Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process and must use the award to defray eligible study abroad or internship costs. These costs include program tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance and international airfare.

The Gilman Scholarship is open to all U.S. citizen undergraduates, in good academic standing, who meet the criteria listed below.
* The applicant must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant or provide proof that he/she will be receiving a Pell Grant at the time of application or during the term abroad.
* The applicant is applying to or has been accepted into a study abroad program or internship eligible for credit by the student's accredited institution of higher education in the U.S.
* The applicant is studying or interning abroad for at least 4 weeks in one country. Programs going to more than one country are eligible if the student will be studying in one country for at least 4 weeks.
* The applicant is studying or interning abroad in any country except Cuba or a country on the State Department's current Travel Warning list.

Program Highlights

Gilman awards over 2,000 scholarships of up to $5,000 each year for U.S. citizen undergraduates to study or intern abroad. Undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at 2-year or 4-year colleges or universities in the U.S. are eligible to apply. Students who apply for and receive the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad are eligible to receive an $8,000 Critical Need Language Award. Critical Need Languages include: * Arabic (all dialects) * Chinese (all dialects) * Turkic (Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgz, Turkish, Turkmen, Uzbek) * Persian (Farsi, Dari, Kurdish, Pashto, Tajiki) * Indic (Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Sinhala, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Sindhi) * Korean * Russian. *Japanese * Bahasa Indonesia. Additionally, Gilman International Internship Awards are available to students participating in credit-bearing, career-oriented internships. This Congressionally funded program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is administered by the Institute of International Education in Houston, Texas.

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Academics

10

Living Situation

10

Cultural Immersion

10

Program Administration

10

Health & Safety

10

Community

10

EMPOWERED!

Submitted by
Andrea -
Irvine | July 26, 2014

I was afforded the opportunity to Study Abroad as a Benjamin Gilman Scholar at Eastern Illinois University through the Nation Building in the New South Africa program guided by Dr. Michael Loudon. It was by far one of the the most eye opening experiences of my life. Not only did I have an the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture of South Africa, but I was empowered to further my knowledge about the African diaspora and share it with others. My academic studies while in the country helped ground me culturally. Socially, I was taken aback by how welcoming and communal the people were. I couldn't have asked for a better experience in which I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about the country, myself and the diaspora. My time abroad will forever guide my path in life and strengthen my passion to serve and empower others!

Subjects & Courses

Liberal Arts

Year(s) Offered

For Summer, Fall & Academic Year programs: Opens January with deadline of 1st Tuesday in March; For Spring programs: Opens August with deadline of 1st Tuesday in October. Please visit our website www.iie.org/gilman for details.